Supranatural
by Annalise Hays
Summary: Please read and review.  Story about the Winchester boys, mainly Dean/OC. Begins prior to season one.
1. Chapter 1

_FYI-I own rights to nothing...all fantasy..._

Katelyn rolled over in bed annoyed to be awoken by the sliver of light coming through the bottom of the doorway. Groaning, she slipped out of bed and into her robe and glanced at the clock. 2:30 in the morning, Christmas day, her father didn't have to play Santa anymore and should definitely be in bed. She paused as she reached her door, hearing voices in the living room. Her father was not alone. She turned the knob and opened the door quietly, hoping to overhear part of the conversation; but the furnace was laboring loudly, doing its best to keep the house warm despite the below freezing temperatures outside. Missouri in December was just about as cold as Katelyn could stand. She really couldn't complain though, it was the first white Christmas in ten years. She moved quietly down the hallway, creeping closer to the voices in the living room. She stood just inside the hallway and listened, "I could really use your help on this one Paul. I can't tell which way I'm headed anymore," she heard a man say and almost immediately Katelyn recognized the voice. She stepped around the corner, wishing she'd put on her slippers as the cold air hit her feet, and collided with Dean Winchester. "Oh my God, Dean...you scared the hell out of me," Katelyn said leaning against the wall, recovering her breath.

Dean muttered something as he moved around her. "Didn't think you were up," he said pointing at the room at the end of the hall, "is it all right if I throw my stuff in here?"

Katelyn nodded, then put a hand over her heart in an attempt to slow it down. She looked across the room at the man who had been talking with her father. He stood there just looking at her with the stupidest grin on his face and any annoyance or irritation Katelyn had felt for being awoken in the middle of the night immediately left. "John Winchester," Katelyn said, crossing the room to give him a big hug, "it's so good to see you." Despite the cold outside he was already warm and Katelyn always loved the way his jacket smelled. John Winchester had always been, and would always be her favorite friend of her dad's. Which was saying a lot 'cause her dad had some great friends.

John held her tight, "It's great to see you too Katie, sorry to wake you."

"Katelyn's well on her way to being valedictorian...she's gonna leave high school with lots of college already under her belt," her dad was saying as Katie fought back her tears. John was a hunter and Katie knew all too well how much a blessing it was that he was here, in her living room, standing on his own two feet. And with that infamous Winchester grin on his face.

"That's great Katie," John said kissing the top of her head, "Merry Christmas sweetie."

"Merry Christmas to you too John Winchester." She pulled away from him and looked at the young boy standing in the doorway. He was only a few years younger than she, but as he'd yet to hit his growth spurt she could still think of him as little Sammy. She smiled as she walked over to hug him, "Merry Christmas sleepy head." Sam yawned as he dropped one of the bags he was carrying at his feet.

"Merry Christmas Katie, I like your tree...now can I got to bed?"

"Go ahead and stick your stuff in the room at the top of the stairs. Throw your Dad's in his room too...I'll be up to change the sheets in a minute and then we'll get you into bed."

"Okay," Sam sighed heavily, picking the bags back up, "I'm exhausted."

"So you guys are staying for a while?" Katelyn asked as she turned back down the hallway to the linen closet and grabbed three sets of sheets. The Morris home was always open to hunters in the area, but only the Winchesters got fresh sheets.

"Well, some of us are," John responded.

"You got a hunt near here?" Katelyn asked still talking to John but peeking into the room at the end of the hallway, she saw Dean sprawled out on the bed and he was definitely snoring.

"Katie, it looks like I'll be going away for a little bit," she heard her father say.

Katelyn entered the living room, "You know what? Let's not talk about anybody leaving until after tomorrow...let me have Christmas, then you guys can go do your thing, okay?" She flipped the lock on the front door and did her best to conceal her already building anxiety. "I'm going to go put new sheets on all your beds, and then I suggest we all get some sleep...now that all you guys are here I've got a lot more baking and cooking to do and I'm gonna need all the help I can get."

After getting John and Sam into bed Katelyn found herself sighing as she went down the stairs. She told herself there was no use in starting to worry now, there would be more than enough time for that later, but she'd had this bad feeling coming on for over a week now, and it only seemed to be getting more intense. It was the same kind of feeling she got every time her dad went on a hunt and it stayed in her the whole time he was gone. She stopped at the base of the stairs, noticing Dean standing in the doorway to his room. She loved John Winchester like a father, Sam Winchester like a brother and Dean Winchester like no one else.

"I'm standing here 'cause I heard you upstairs and I know you want to change the sheets and if I sit or lay down right now I'm going to be out for the count," Dean said, responding to a question Katie hadn't even asked.

She moved around him, into the room and started stripping the bed. "Where you guys coming from?" Katelyn asked pulling the old pillowcases off the pillows.

"West VA," Dean said moving to the other side of the bed to give her a hand.

"Quite a drive,"she pulled the sheets off.

"Dad wanted to see you for Christmas...Sammy too... and he probably figured you'd be a little more okay with him needing your dad that way."

"My dad's an adult, when he wants to go, he goes. So the implication is that you didn't want to be here?"

"No," he looked at her and grinned, "I love it here...you always have pie."

"No kidding," she pulled the sheet over her two corners, "I seem to be making a lot of pies lately."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked pulling his side of the sheet down.

Katelyn sighed, "Nothing...just let's get this done so we can both go to bed."

"You could just let me sleep in your bed...I assume it already has sheets on it," he said, grin again covering his face.

"Yeah right," Katelyn said, hoping she wasn't blushing as she threw the top sheet at him and went to the closet for a few more blankets.

"So, valedictorian huh?" Dean said as he slid the pillowcases on.

Katelyn returned to the room and started spreading the blankets out on the bed. "Maybe...it's still undecided...but you know since I can count on one hand the number of times in the past year I've been around Dad for more than three days in a row, and when he's not here I worry...and what do I do when I worry? One of two things, I bake or I study. Which explains why I'm getting fat and why I'm probably going to be valedictorian. So all things considered, I think I'd rather have my dad around more," she spread the last blanket out over the top of the bed.

"Yeah," Dean said shaking his head, "I wasn't going to say anything about the weight thing, but, whew...talk about 'an elephant in the room.'"

Katelyn shook her head, and threw one of the pillows at him, "You are such an asshole."

Dean laughed, "I know...but what can you do?"

"Absolutely nothing...so I'm going to bed..." Katelyn walked towards the door, turned and smiled, "Merry Christmas Dean...all in all, I'm glad you're here not in West VA."

Dean nodded and smiled walking towards her, "Yeah, me too..." he wrapped her in a hug and kissed her lightly on the lips, "Merry Christmas to you too Katelyn Lorraine Morris."

Katelyn whispered good night and left the room thinking how great it was to have the Winchesters home for Christmas.

The next morning Dean was sitting by his dad in Paul's study, watching his father and his father's best friend talk about hunting demons...on Christmas day. He was opening and closing the knife Katie had given him. She said it had belonged to Superman...he was still trying to figure out what the hell that meant. He was only half listening as Paul and his father traded stories concerning this particular demon. His dad came to Paul when he needed special help with the heavy hitters. According to his dad, and everyone who knew him really, few people knew more about demons than Paul, and nobody knew more about how to kill them. Like he only had to think about blasting one and it was done. At least that's what Dean's dad had always told him, Dean had never actually seen it for himself. It was shaping up to be quite a hunting trip, and to be honest Dean was more than a little upset that he wasn't going along, but his dad really wanted him to finish school. He couldn't believe he was graduating this year. He'd been in five different schools so far this year, it was only half way over...God he hated school, and he didn't think Winston High would be any different. Especially since it was smack dab in the middle of nowhere. The only thing he'd ever liked about Winston, MO was Katelyn. He liked the way she smelled, the way she always tried to stop smiling at him but couldn't seem to most of the time. And she wasn't getting fat, she was getting hot. Just thinking about that made him feel weird...they were practically brother and sister. They did a lot of growing up together. He remembered when her mom died and her dad was out on a hunt with his dad so he and Sammy had been staying with her. Dean was 14, Katie was 13, and Sam had just turned 10. When the State Trooper showed up at the door he was sure it was going to be about one of their dad's. It was the hardest thing he'd done in his life, telling Katie about her mom's accident. He really wasn't looking forward to topping that one. And last night he barely slept at all, even though he was dead on his feet because he kept thinking about her...she had definitely grown up since he'd seen her last year, and in all the right places. He could just imagine her lips on his...

"Dean," his dad said, breaking his train of thought, "why don't you go help Katie in the kitchen, you don't need to hear all this."

Dean nodded and got up, he hadn't been paying attention anyway. But he really doubted Katie needed any help in the kitchen. He could tell from the smells hanging in the air that she was getting along quite nicely, with out any help from him. But dad said jump...


	2. Chapter 2

She wasn't fat...just getting that way, Katelyn thought to herself as she continued rolling out the dough for the rolls. She'd been up since six that morning, but it was becoming more and more evident that she should have been up at four. She set the rolls on the baking sheet and set them on the oven to rise. She was peeking into the oven to check on the pies when she felt someone walk up behind her.

"Do I smell pie?" Dean said sniffing the air, wrapping his arms around Katie, "oh yeah, I smell pie...have I told you lately that I love you?"

"You don't love me," she smacked at him as he was pulling the strings of her apron undone, "you love my pie. Quit it! Now if you're going to be in here you're going to be helping. If not, go back out there and bug the old guys, or watch a movie with Sam."

"Dean? Help in the kitchen?" Sam smirked following his nose into the kitchen, "yeah right..."

"Shut up Sammy, I'm the one who cooks your dinner most of the time..." Dean retorted, popping a few marshmallows in his mouth.

"How exactly do you cook a bowl of cereal? Or a peanut butter sandwich?" Sam replied snagging the bag of marshmallows from his brother and hopping up on the counter.

"Hey, I made those noodles that one time..." Dean responded as he walked back out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"Yeah, and then we threw them away..." Sam mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that!" Dean yelled.

Katelyn laughed at the brothers, and filled a pot with water to start boiling, next was the potatoes. The pies were just about done, which was a good thing because she'd have to put the bird in the oven in the next hour or they wouldn't be eating until after nine o'clock that night, it was a big turkey. "Okay Sammy, same goes for you," she shooed him off the counter, "if you're not helping you're in the way."

"In that case..." Sam said tossing the now half empty bag of marshmallows on the counter, "I'm outta here."

Katelyn went about her work in the kitchen doing her best to keep busy, which wasn't hard. Doing her best to not think about what her dad and John were about to do. She now knew this bad feeling she was having was definitely tied to their upcoming hunt. Her nightmare last night had confirmed her suspicions. When her dad went on a hunt there was always the possibility of him not coming back, but her concern about this particular one was quickly becoming overwhelming. And the nightmare was just like the one she'd had just prior to her mom's accident. A final horrifying vision of, then her mom, now her dad, sitting completely alone in a dark room, and Kate could hear their thoughts. Over and over each kept wondering where Katie was and why she didn't love them anymore and no matter how loud Katie screamed, nothing broke the silence. Kate woke up this morning with the same pit in her stomach as on the day her mom died. She shook her head, that was the exact train of thought she wanted to avoid. She needed to focus on the meal, it should certainly be enough to occupy her thoughts, if not she could go back to thinking about Dean. He was a very nice distraction, the dream she had about him last night after finally falling back to sleep certainly had proved that.

"So the boys will be staying here with you Kate, until we get back. And I know you don't want to talk about it, but we don't know when we'll be back. It's a pretty big deal..." Paul trailed off as he continued carrying over dishes from the table. John was standing quietly at the back door, he'd already told his boys all they needed to know and they were obediently elsewhere as Paul filled in Kate.

"And you're leaving first thing tomorrow morning?" Katelyn said as she portioned out some of the turkey to send with her dad and John.

"Yeah," Paul nodded his head as he looked at his daughter, who had gone almost completely still standing by the refrigerator.

John turned and saw Katie standing by the fridge and Paul looking at her, it was obvious that he had no idea what to say to her. What was the point of consoling her when they both knew how dangerous it was, when they both knew any assurances of a safe return would be lies. John walked over to her, laid his hands on her shoulders and saw the tears on her cheeks. "Katie, honey, go sit down, we'll clean up," John said and started to guide her into the living room.

She shrugged his hands off, "Don't do that...John, don't do that whole, 'Poor Katie, she's crying...' thing with me John." She turned around and looked at the two men before her, if she weren't so terrified she would probably be amused. They looked so helpless. Could barely look her in the eye, kept shuffling their feet. And they were going off to fight a demon. "I'm going to get this kitchen cleaned up, were all going to go into the living room and watch 'It's a Wonderful Life,' then we're all going to eat some pie. And I'm probably going to be crying during most of it..." she wiped at her cheeks as she walked over to the sink, moving her dad out of the way, "and if that makes you guys uncomfortable, that's just too bad." She rinsed the dishes in the sink and filled it up again, preparing to wash the last of them. She rubbed her hands dry on her apron and turned around, "Both of you out...John, go be with your boys, it's Christmas. Dad, go do something...just let me clean in peace. I'll be out as soon as it's done." She turned back to the sink and after what seemed like several minutes she finally heard the two men leave, and only then did she finally break down and sob. She cried as quietly as possible and kept the sink running hoping to disguise the sound, but she let her tears flow. Not because her dad was going on a hunt, he'd done that so many times before. Not because she'd had bad dreams the night before. Not because she was scared for John. None of those things helped, but deep down Kate knew those were just things piled on top of the real reason she was crying. She was crying because she could hear Judy Garland singing on the radio playing in the corner. She was crying because one of her favorite memories of her mother was standing next to her at this same sink just five years ago listening to her sing along with Judy. She was crying because it was Christmas, and she always missed her mom most at Christmas.

The snow was falling heavy the next morning. Katelyn stood in the doorway with Sam and Dean watching her dad and John load up her dad's Challenger. They'd decided to leave the Impala there with Dean, something Katelyn was sure Dean was thrilled about. The replay of her nightmare last night made Katie determined; with the knowledge that this might be the last time she would talk with her father she was only going to tell him how much she loved him and that nothing could ever change that. She'd been practicing for the last hour. Practicing keeping the fear and disappointment out of her voice. She hugged John first, after he shook hands with his boys, and she whispered in his ear, "Please get him back safe." She knew it was a low blow, she could sense John's regret in getting her dad involved at all. Which only scared her more, because if John felt this bad about getting her dad involved it had to be deadly serious. John responded with a kiss on the cheek and a quick release as he cleared his throat and walked towards the car. She didn't say much, when she hugged her dad, couldn't really. Despite the practice, Katie wasn't able to keep all the emotion out of her voice. She did say she loved him and that he'd damn well better call often and to hurry back, but anything beyond that wouldn't come out between the sobs. She just held him tight and sealed in a memory of him. Hoping he was doing the same. If this really was the last time they'd see each other, if her nightmare was really some kind of horrible vision, than she wanted this hug to last forever, even if only in her mind. She let go and watched him walk to the car, her vision blurred by the blowing snow and her own tears, both seeming to pick up intensity the further away he got. The car rumbled to life and Katie felt Dean wrap his arm around her shoulder as her composure, such as it was, shattered completely. Nobody said a word as Dean pulled her into a hug and into the house, the Challenger completely disappearing from sight.

The next several days were the hardest. Taking down Christmas was always hard for Kate, but this one seemed damn near impossible. Dean tried to help with most of it, but he was really just good for the heavy lifting. She'd all but jumped down his throat when she saw what he'd done to 'put away' the Christmas village her mom had hand painted. But for some reason Katie was looking forward to New Year's Eve. She never had before, was just another day really. Maybe she needed the hope of it more this year than ever before. Whatever the reason she'd gone all out. She made the cake last night and was shocked to wake up this morning and find it still intact. She'd gone to bed much earlier than the boys and had warned them to leave the cake alone, but didn't actually expect that they would. But they had, and it was now iced and decorated. The ham was in the oven and the black-eye peas, having soaked overnight, were now cooking away. She'd even had Dean take her to the store last night just so they would have those obnoxious confetti guns that seemed to do little more than make a mess. Kate could tell her excitement was catching, both Dean and Sam had been into her idea of an all day movie marathon. Katie had just gotten up to run to the bathroom and make some more popcorn while Dean made his selection. He never really varied in his selection, he liked the horror flicks. Katie's least favorite type of movie ever, always ended with her heart racing and her screaming at the screen. Of course she'd made them watch Steel Magnolias so, fair was fair.

"Katie, hurry up," Dean yelled from the living room, "I'm not starting this without you."

Katie grabbed the tray with the popcorn and drinks and flipped the light in the kitchen off with her elbow, "Start it, but I'm going to have to get up in about an hour to check on the ham, so if I just so happen to miss the bloody part, too bad."

"I'll pause it," Dean said reaching into the bowl and stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. If he had to watch every excruciating second of that damn chick flick they'd just watched, she was going to see every bit of this bloody chainsaw massacre flick. He slid over on the couch, giving Katie enough space to sit between him and Sam. Dean was no fool, when girls got scared, they got clingy and he could really deal with Katie clinging to him, her eyes wide, her heart racing, her breath catching...yeah, he could deal with that. He turned the lamp next to him off and pushed play, and smoothly extended his arm behind Kate on the couch. New Years never really meant a damn thing to him, but midnight tonight he was going to hold Katie in his arms and kiss her and if he was lucky, real lucky, she might kiss him back. It's not like he hasn't been with his fair share of girls but he'd been fantasizing about her kissing him for over a week now, and in Dean's world that was a long time to wait.

By the time the movie had ended Dean counted thirteen times that Katie willingly pressed her body against his and figured that even though he wasn't really a big fan of the movie, it was the best choice he could have made. After his movie they ate dinner, which was amazing, as usual, and then watched Sam's choice, something about dinosaurs. Since Sam had fallen asleep halfway through his pick and now it was closing in on midnight, they had the television tuned into the ball dropping in New York.

"Should we wake him up?" Katie asked looking over at Sam, curled up on the floor.

"Nah," Dean said, "we can shoot off the gun things tomorrow," besides, he thought to himself, she'd probably be less likely to kiss him if Sammy were watching. He moved closer to her, they were both standing behind the couch having just carted the dishes into the kitchen. The countdown on the TV continued and he reached for her hand. Usually he wasn't nervous when he was about to kiss a girl, but then again, usually they were asking for it. They started counting down with the announcer from ten, quietly so as not to wake up Sam. Dean turned to look at Kate and they locked eyes. In them he saw some emotion he couldn't identify and he pulled her to him when the timer reached five seconds to midnight. He moved his hands up to frame her face and slowly lowered his head to hers. He waited for the last few remaining seconds, waited for her to push him away, but instead she licked her lips and held her breath. That was all the invitation he needed. He moved his lips to hers and licked her lips again, with his own tongue, and when she parted her lips he actually sighed in relief. He angled his head a little bit, and pulled her even closer to him. He could taste the icing from the cake still on her lips, along with the soda she just finished. He moved his hands from her face and wrapped his arms around her waist. The ball in New York could have exploded and Dean wouldn't have even noticed. He was so wrapped up in her, even though her arms still hung at her sides, he felt surrounded.

"Wow," Dean said, breaking the kiss and letting go of Katie, he took a small step back.

"Yeah," Katie agreed moving a hand up to her face, she could feel the heat on her cheeks and she grazed her fingers over her lips, puffy now from the kiss. Where the hell had that come from? She closed her eyes and after what must have only been a few seconds, though it felt like forever, finally said, "Well, I'm gonna go to bed now, make sure Sammy gets in bed and make sure all the lights are off."

Dean cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah, will do..."

Katie quickly turned towards her room, and once inside rested her forehead against the closed door. She stood there a few minutes, waiting for the roaring in her ears to die down. She'd wanted to kiss Dean for a long time, and kinda figured he wanted to kiss her too...especially now that she had breasts. Dean pretty much wanted to kiss anything with breasts. She changed into her pajamas and tried to convince herself that it was not a big deal. Like she said, Dean wanted to kiss anything with breasts. But the problem was, Katelyn had always only wanted to kiss Dean. She finally fell asleep, telling herself it was just a kiss to bring in the New Year, and her trying to make it something more was only going to end up getting her hurt. And she was tired of hurting.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't believe it..." Katelyn muttered as she picked up a pair of jeans from the coffee table in the living room. Jeans? Why was there a pair of jeans in the living room? "You guys have dirty clothes scattered all around this house." She kicked Dean's legs off the table as she walked by to get a shirt off the floor by the lamp stand next to the sofa. The laundry was a monster she'd been chasing the last five months. A monster that she usually kept tame and under control, but it now seemed to be rearing it's ugly head, along with the fifteen other things she was getting sick and tired of juggling. "Seriously, I wash the clothes, I dry the clothes, I fold the clothes, I even put them away most of the time," she continued her rant, her voice raising an octave with each syllable, "the least you all could do is make sure it all gets into the laundry room...one simple task." She went over the list of things she had left to do that evening in her head. The laundry, which seemed to be never ending, cookies to bake for Mrs. Linder, two finals to study for tomorrow and an 8 page paper she barely had a rough draft for, due at the end of the week. She suddenly started speaking out loud as she came out of the downstairs bathroom with a heap of dirty towels, "And the kitchen is a disaster, and I haven't vacuumed in forever...yeah, last time I vacuumed was when we were off for President's Day. That was in January, this is May." She continued her rant as she tossed the clothes and towels she'd collected into the laundry room then turned to go into the kitchen to cook dinner. It was almost seven o'clock and she was just about to start dinner. She should be working on that paper, or studying for her chem test. Not cleaning and keeping a house for two of the laziest, messiest, smelliest boys in the world. She flipped on the oven for garlic bread, then walked to the base of the stairs "Sam!" she yelled up at him, "dinner's in thirty minutes! If you have any more dishes in your room, you had better bring them down when you come...I'm running out of bowls! And you," she turned and pointed at Dean, still staring at the television, "get your ass in here and unload and load the dishwasher, I asked you to do it last night before you went to bed but now I've got dishes piling up in the sink and I'm running out of space on the counters."

Dean knew by now that Katelyn went into these little rants every two to three weeks, the way he figured, it probably had something to do with that time of the month. He also knew by now that if he didn't do what she asked, and quickly, she would eventually start crying; he'd learned that lesson back in February. "Okay," he said springing up from the couch, "look, why don't you go get started on your homework. I'll make dinner, clean the kitchen after, and Sammy can vacuum." He briefly considered punctuating that statement with a kiss, especially since her cheeks were all flushed, but figured since they were flushed with rage, and not desire for him he'd better not risk it. They hadn't kissed since New Year's Eve, and Dean had made a deliberate effort to not think about why that was the case.

"You'll make dinner? Dean, I really don't feel like grilled cheese again...I'll just throw some spaghetti together real quick...I just need you to unload and load the dishwasher. Okay?"

"Right, but then I'll go start a load of laundry."

"Yeah," she scoffed, "because the last time you did laundry it went so well...just 'cause you wear it together doesn't mean you can wash it together."

"Fine, but Sammy's gonna vacuum," Dean said opening the dishwasher.

"No, Sam is not going to vacuum," she sighed as she pulled a pound of ground beef out of the fridge. "He's going to eat and then take a shower, he smells worse than that room of yours...I mean seriously, I'm buying you an air freshener this weekend. I went in there today to change the sheets and nearly passed out from the stench...boys are so disgusting."

"Just don't get me one of those rose scented ones, I hate roses..."

"I'll get whatever kind I want, unless you actually want to go into the store with me, then I'll let you pick out your own."

If there was one thing Dean hated more than seeing Katie cry, it was seeing Katie shop. He'd learned that lesson in February too. It still baffled him how one person could spend so much time agonizing over something as simple as toilet paper. Ever since then, the arrangement had been he'd drive her to the store, drop her off, and then wait for her to call. He'd load the groceries in the back of the Impala, and then when they got home, he'd cart them inside. That way he never had to actually set foot in the store with her.

The phone rang just as Katie began filling a pot with water to boil the noodles in. She glanced at the caller id and squealed as she picked up the hand held, "Dad!"

"Hey sweetie," Paul responded.

It was only the third time they'd heard from the guys, which Katie figured was probably her dad's idea of calling often. Katelyn though, over the years of receiving phone calls from him, had become an expert at reading the tone of her dad's voice, it didn't sound good. Graduation was in two weeks, and by the sound of it they weren't exactly on their way home. "What's wrong?" Katelyn asked as she opened the pantry to pull out a jar of spaghetti sauce.

"What do you mean 'what's wrong?' I just said hey sweetie."

"Yeah, I know dad, but something is up...I can tell," she gave the beef in the skillet a few pokes.

"Well, we're really starting to make some good progress...so that's good news." Paul said, very unconvincingly.

"Yeah? That's good...so what's the bad news?" As if she couldn't already guess. She and Dean were graduating in two weeks, herself, valedictorian, and with highest honors, Dean, barely by the skin of his teeth, nevertheless, they were graduating... She had a feeling though, that this phone call was to let her know they wouldn't be home for the ceremony.

"I'm really sorry baby, but I don't think we're gonna make it back in time for graduation..."

Of course not, Katelyn thought as she began dumping spices into the sauce heating on the stove.

"I mean, we're still going to try, but I just don't think we'll make it in time...we're in Montana...kind of waiting for the demon to make the next move."

Katelyn slammed the pantry door shut after she grabbed a bag of noodles. She set the pot of water on the stove and turned the heat on high. Wasn't that just the shit icing on the shit cake of her life right now? She was feeling the pressure at school, nothing new for Kate, but high school was ending in two weeks and she still hadn't selected a college, she kinda wanted her dad to be a part of that decision. In fact, she'd already decided it would be a good idea to take a semester off. Something her counselor was very not excited about. She had somehow managed to excel at school while being saddled with the responsibilities of taking care of the Winchester boys. Dean kept insisting that he knew how to take care of himself and Sam, but Katie had yet to see any real proof. Her father, and a man she loved like a second father, were out risking their lives, fighting God knows what, and she knew she would be damn lucky if she ever saw either one of them again. And, she hadn't figured out how really, but she'd managed to ruin whatever it was she had with Dean. Ever since New Year's Eve he hadn't so much as touched her, in fact, he seemed to be going out of his way not too. She kept hearing rumors at school about him and multiple girls. She knew he asked some slut to prom. All these thoughts were running through her head, building up and she felt her eyes start to fill with tears, even as she listened to her father make excuses.

"Katie, I'm really sorry...I'm so really proud of you...I really want to be there. I just can't leave John with this right now. Who would've thought, my little girl valedictorian...you're mom would be proud too."

She couldn't respond. What could she say? 'It's alright dad, no big deal dad, I understand dad,' he would know she was lying. She closed her eyes and drained the grease off the beef, cradling the phone on her shoulder. "Dad, I don't know what I'm supposed to say here..." She heard him sigh on the other end of the line and she put the beef back in the skillet, adding the sauce and setting it on simmer. She looked over at Dean, leaning against the counter, and shook her head. She knew there were tears on her face now, and she knew that made Dean uneasy, but she was so past the point of giving a damn about what made him uneasy. She took a breath, knowing what she wanted to say to her father, but also remembering her nightmare. "Dad, I know you'd be here if you could. I know you feel bad enough, so I'm not going to try and make you feel worse. Just promise me something...promise me that you know I love you, and that nothing can change that. Promise me that and when I hang up this phone, I won't be anything but happy." She rubbed her forehead, knowing she just lied to her father.

"Katie, honey, I know you love me, and I will always know that, no matter what. I need you to know the same."

"I know dad...I know." She took a breath and decided to change the subject, "By the way, tell John Dean's graduating too...I'm sure he'll be just as shocked as we all were." Katie wiped the tears from her face and dropped the noodles in the boiling water and spent the next twenty minutes talking with her dad. She knew he couldn't do anything more to make her feel better, but she could do a lot for him. She told him how lazy the boys were, but how they still helped out when she really needed them too. She told him that Mrs. Linder had made a point of bringing some kind of inedible casserole by at least once a month, even though it was really just an excuse to nose around. She thought Paul was a truck driver and that's why he was gone so much, and she also thought he was doing a horrible job of raising Katie. Katie told him she was baking her some cookies tonight anyway. When she finally hung up and called the boys in for dinner, nobody said much of anything. Katie knew after this week was over, a lot of her tension and frustration would go away. It just couldn't come soon enough.

After cleaning up the remains of the standard Friday night pot roast, Katelyn shut the light off in the kitchen and sighed as she entered the living room to find the two Winchester boys asleep on the floor. They had beds...both of them had their own beds, but both of them every night managed to plant themselves in front of that television until their eyes finally shut from exhaustion. She rolled her neck releasing some of the tension and sent a silent prayer of thanks for the weekend. She glanced at her watch, 10:39, and nudged Sam lightly with her barefoot. "Sammy," she bent down and gently rubbed his back, "Sammy, come on, go on upstairs."

Sam rolled over, eyes still shut, "What time is it?" he said, moving to stand up.

"It's almost eleven. Go on up to bed, and make sure you turn that alarm off. Tomorrow's Saturday and nobody in this house is allowed to be up before 8 am." She stayed crouched down as her eyes followed him up the stairs, he was definitely a growing boy, she was going to have to take him clothes shopping, and soon, his pants were definitely too short. She glanced over at Dean, who was snoring away on the other side of the coffee table. She watched the slow, gentle movement of his back moving up and down with each breath. She quietly moved over and lay down on the couch looking down at him. She gently put her hand on his back and whispered his name.

"I'm not asleep you know..." he said rolling over and quickly pulling her down on top of him.

She laughed as she scrambled off of him. Laying on top of Dean Winchester was too close to exactly what she wanted for Katelyn to be too comfortable doing it. She was getting really tired of the back and forth with him. Just in the last few days, ever since the phone call from her dad, he would be giving her a back rub one minute, and then the next wouldn't even make eye contact with her. She sat back down on the couch and turned the TV off. "It's time to go to bed..." she yawned, "I'm exhausted."

Dean laid on the floor looking up at her, "You going to prom tomorrow night?"

"Yeah right," Katelyn said half laughing, "Dean you know I'm not going to prom...I don't have a dress or anything...no date..." she said trailing off.

"I told Melissa Lipse I'd pick her up..."

"Yeah I know Dean, I go to the same school as you...and I have ears. Believe me she's excited...you better watch out for her brother though...her twin brother, apparently he's pretty protective."

"Please," Dean said moving to get up off the floor, "I'm not worried about her brother, only thing is his date canceled on him last night so now I have a feeling he's gonna kinda put a damper on things if you know what I mean."

"Oh, you mean like hang around his sister all night so you don't have a chance to make your move?"

"Yeah," Dean said sitting on the couch next to Katelyn, "like he's gonna want to ride with us...and I don't like having dudes in the backseat of my baby. You know?"

Katie shook her head and got up to turn the lamps off, "Oh Dean, the problems you face..." she flipped the front door locked and turned the outside light on. She briefly wondered if she should close the windows, the last weather report she heard said there was a strong possibility of rain later on tonight. If you could believe those guys.

"So I was wondering..." Dean said, sounding a little unsure, pausing.

"You were wondering what?" Katelyn asked. He better not be wondering what she thought he was wondering.

"I was wondering, if you would kinda come along...that way you could keep him...you know, distracted."

Katelyn couldn't believe it. Actually, when she thought about it, she could... "You want me to come along so I can distract Joe from ruining your chances of getting some from Melissa?"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

Katelyn was quickly becoming furious...she knew lately she wasn't at the top of Dean's list of anything really, but to be reduced to being a diversion so he could get some tail...that was low, even for him. "Forget it Dean..." she shook her head and shoved past him towards her room. "You are unbelievable...you want me to come along and be your wing man?" She slammed the door to her bedroom in his face which he promptly barged right through.

"I didn't say that, I just want you to keep him occupied so he's not paying attention to his sister..."

She pushed him out of her room, "Screw you, Dean." She slammed the door again, grateful that Sam was known to be able to sleep through anything.

"Katie," he knocked on her door, "come on...don't be pissed." He waited a few seconds for her to answer. She didn't. "Look, I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to ask."

"Yeah, whatever, go to bed..." she flicked the lamp on next to her bed and pulled her shirt over her head.

"Katie, open up, let me apologize..."

"You just did apologize, Dean, go to bed and leave me the hell alone!" Katelyn snapped as she peeled her jeans off. She blinked back tears, there was no way she was going to cry over this. Dean made an ass of himself on a daily basis, this situation was no different. So he thought of her as a diversion...at least he was saying she could probably keep a guy's attention for a while...at least long enough for Dean to make his move, which honestly wasn't saying much, he was a really fast mover. She didn't want to spend her prom night with some guy thinking about Dean being with some girl. And therein lied the problem; Katelyn had somehow become nothing to Dean, when he was everything to her. She was digging through her pajama drawer when her door opened.

Dean saw her standing there in her black lace bra and matching panties and he knew his jaw hit the floor. He had joked with her quite a bit over the last several months about putting on some weight, but truth was it had all gone in the right places. Like the curves on her hips and her breasts. Yeah, the right amount of weight in those places with a set of underwear like that...his jaw definitely dropped.

Katie stopped rummaging through her drawer and froze, unable even to cover up. After what seemed like an eternity she finally managed, "The door was shut for a reason dumbass."

Dean cleared his throat and did his best to form words, "I just wanted to make sure you weren't really mad at me..."

"Why? Cause I'm your meal ticket?" she asked walking towards him, intending to grab the robe from the chair by the door, but Dean reached out and grabbed her arm before she could reach it.

Deep down he knew it was a bad idea. He'd spent the last several months convincing himself how big of a mistake it was to kiss her the first time. She was the closest thing to a sister he had, but right then her skin looked so soft, her lips looked so...perfect, especially when she gasped as he pulled her into him. He leaned down and rested his lips on hers, wanting to gauge her reaction, but she smelled so good, like the apple pie she'd baked right after dinner, his lips moved across hers. The last time he'd kissed her it had been kind of an experiment, one he had decided not to repeat. But as he breathed her in he knew there was no stopping this time. He should have never opened that door. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him and he felt a hundred feet tall. She ran her tongue across his lower lip and made his blood pump faster. He moved a hand down her back side and with the other pushed the door shut. She ran her fingers through his hair and he reached around her to unclasp her bra, but stopped himself. They looked so perfect, the contrast of her creamy skin straining against the black lace, he bent his head down to taste one, he kissed his way along the edge of the bra across the top of her breast. Her skin warming under his touch as he felt and kissed his way back to her lips. "You're so beautiful," he whispered into the curve of her neck as she reached around him trying to pull his shirt off. He moved his hands to stop her, there were scars already from the few times he had helped his dad he didn't want her to see. Which confused him, all the other girls had seen them, in fact he loved making up stories to go with them just to see their eyes go all wide. But Katie...she would know and her eyes would go all watery and he didn't want that...not right now...not when he was fighting the urge to throw her up against the wall and drive her crazy. He put his fingers through her hair and pulled her into a kiss, a long, slow, melt the paint off the walls kiss and hell, his knees got weak. But Katelyn was not so easy to deter and he felt her hands again move under his shirt and over his chest.

"I know you have scars Dean," she said, when he finally took his mouth off hers.

He rested his forehead against hers and took a few seconds to breathe. He should be telling himself what a bad idea this was. He shouldn't be turning up the heat on Katie, and she shouldn't be melting against him. He should never have opened that door.

She pulled his shirt off and reached for the light switch on the wall, "I won't look if you don't," she said, placing her shaking hands on his hips.

Dean sighed as she unbuttoned his jeans. "Is this a good idea?" he asked, probably futilely as he felt her hands move up his chest again. Since when did he ever ask that question? Wasn't sex always a good idea?

"Oh yeah," she said kissing the scar right below his collarbone, "this is a great idea."

"That's what I thought," he said smiling as he caressed her hardening nipples through the lace fabric of her bra.

"You know what this means though..." she said kissing his neck and pushing him back towards her bed.

"What's that?" he said kicking his jeans off as they reached the bed.

She fell on top of him as his knees hit the bed, "You are definitely not going to prom with Melissa Lipse tomorrow..."

He laughed as he rolled her over and placed his hands on either side of her head, "But she already bought a dress and everything," he said kissing her breasts and preparing to work his way down further.

She stopped him before he reached his destination, "I'm serious Dean...it's her or me..."

He looked up, her eyes shining in the light from her lamp, "Oh baby, it's you...it's definitely you," he said moving back up to kiss her.

Okay...she wasn't going to cry...that's what she kept telling herself even as her dreams came true. Even as Dean continued to touch her in all the right places...even as he continued to tell her how beautiful she was...even as he continued to tell her what she was doing to him every time she sighed. Katie had never done this before, she'd imagined doing this before, but she was quickly finding out her imagination sucked. She felt her body tensing in places she didn't even know existed, and then with a touch Dean released that tension. The best part, Katie thought, was at the end, when she did let a few tears slip and Dean kissed them away, and held her in his arms.


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm kind of incorporating some (slightly modified) characters from a book series as well- Steele Street Series- by Tara Janzen. They're a team of Special Forces operatives based out of a former chop shop in Denver. Good complements to the Winchesters, but I still own nothing..._

Katelyn picked up the phone after it was obvious that neither of the boys were going to answer it and smiled as she heard Dylan's voice come across the line. "Dylan Hart, it's good to hear your voice," Katelyn said into the phone as she wedged it between her cheek and her shoulder, as usual, was in the middle of cooking. Dylan's job as a Special Forces operative was just as dangerous as her dad's and Katelyn never took conversations with him for granted.

"Yeah babe, it's been awhile..."

"Did you guys get the invitations I sent?" She'd sent Dylan and the other operatives he worked with at Steele Street Garage invitations to the graduation. Her family had lived with them in Denver for the first half of her life before her dad had moved them to Missouri. Most of them had been in the Corps with her dad and like the Winchesters had become part of her extended family.

"Yeah babe, we got them..."

"And?" she asked, already sensing the answer.

"I'm not sure how many of us will make it...Hawkins says he'll be there, JT's down in Peru with Creed, Kid's still in the Corps, won't get the time off..."

"What about you? And Quinn?"

"Well, Quinn's on a job, and I'm not sure about my schedule..." 

"The party's in two days...you don't know what you're schedule is going to be like in the next two days?" There was something he wasn't telling her. "What's wrong?" she asked, cautiously.

"Nothing's wrong babe, I just don't know...I've got too much work right now."

"Too much work? Dylan, you always have too much work..." she flipped the noodles down to simmer and turned to put the meatloaf in the oven. "You know Dad's not going to be here...or John...so I would really like for you guys to be here...you know as many of you as possible. I realize a graduation party isn't exactly top priority for a special forces team, but you guys are practically family..."

"I know babe, and I'm going to try, really...but you should just count on Hawkins driving out there."

She blinked the tears out of her eyes as she gathered the ingredients to bake a batch of cookies, she wouldn't know what to do with herself if nobody came. "This is a really important time for me...I just think it would be nice if the people who are really important to me could be there..."

"Baby, are you crying?" Hart asked quietly.

"No," Katelyn said, lying and wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"Yes you are, I can tell..." he sighed heavily.

"Don't worry about it Hart...I've had this fight too many times lately...I'm done."

There was a long pause, "Screw it...babe, I'll be there. Hawk and I will drive out there, we'll leave first thing Saturday morning and we'll stay the night." 

"Dylan, if you've got stuff to do, you've got stuff to do..."

"Forget it, me and Superman will meet you at the house after the ceremony..."

Superman was the nickname Katelyn had given Christian Hawkins when she was a little girl because at the time she thought there wasn't anything that man couldn't do, and now that she was older, she was sure of it. Dean walked into the kitchen, smelling the food no doubt, "Dylan, I gotta go, I've got to finish cooking supper. It really means the world to me that you're coming, you know that right?"

"I know. I'll see you soon...love ya babe." 

"Alright, love you too..." 

Katelyn motioned for Dean to come take the phone, her hands were now covered in cookie dough. As he grabbed the phone he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "What was that for?" Katelyn asked as she began separating the dough into balls and arranging them on the cookie sheet.

"Eehh..." Dean shrugged as he put the phone back, "just seemed like the thing to do...you were crying, weren't you?"

Katelyn considered denying it but figured he'd see right through her. She filled him in on the conversation and how important it was to her that they were coming and how she wished more of them could come but she understood. It wasn't until she turned around to stir the noodles that she realized that he seemed to be actually paying attention to her. Even when she'd finished talking he was standing there leaning against the sink looking at her. Almost like they were normal people having normal conversations. Almost like they were a couple. She shook her head as she moved around him to add some more dishes to the dishwasher only to realize he'd done that too. While he'd been listening to her ramble he'd also loaded the dishwasher. So here she was, standing next to him, food cooking away, cookies tray-ed and ready to go, dishes loaded, with absolutely nothing more to do, nothing to say. She pushed the stray strands of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ears and pushed her hands into her pockets, fighting the urge to just turn around and leave the room. Why wasn't he saying anything? Why wasn't he uncomfortable? She sighed as she leaned back against the island, opposite him. If he wasn't going to say anything neither was she.

He continued watching her move around the kitchen. He'd been listening to her, yeah, but mostly he'd been watching her. It had been over a week since they'd been together and thinking about her had been keeping him up at night. After moving around the kitchen for a while she finally settled across from him, hands in her pockets and looking at him like she wanted him to kiss her. At least that's how he saw it. He pushed off the counter and had her body against his in seconds. Framing her face with his hands he lowered his lips to hers. He could feel her holding her breath and he was pretty sure he was doing the same. Just as she started to move her arms, Sam cleared his throat from the doorway, and instead of her hands pulling him even closer they pushed him away. He pushed his hands through his hair and then looked at his brother as he walked in the kitchen, his face as red as a tomato.

"I smelled the meatloaf..." Sam said as he went to the fridge to grab a soda.

Katelyn popped open the oven, "Yeah, it's done," she said as she turned around and grabbed a couple of potholders. She was definitely just going to act like that never happened. Not so much the kiss, that was nice, but Sam walking in on her and Dean...yeah, that's what she was going to forget. She filled plates and carried them over to the dinner table, avoiding eye contact with either of the Winchesters. She told Sam about Hart and Hawkins coming down, how they were going to stay the night. She filled both of them in on the itinerary for the next couple of days. By the time everyone was done eating she figured she'd done a pretty good job of avoiding any kind of awkwardness. Now if she could just figure out what she'd done to make Dean kiss her again...that way she could keep doing it.

"Okay guys, I've gotta go get the cake and grab a few other things..." Katelyn said walking into the living room where Sam and Dean had been ever since they'd gotten back from the ceremony. She waited a few seconds and when neither one responded, she tried again. "I've gotta go get the cake!" she said a little louder.

"Cake?" Dean asked, practically jumping off the couch, "I'll drive," he said grabbing his keys.

That was more like it, Katelyn thought. "Hey Sam, just keep an eye on the ham, it's just in the oven staying warm, and it should be fine, but just check on it..."

"Whatever," Sam responded, not even trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Just check on commercials or something, oh and..." 

"Are we going to get this cake or not?" Dean asked obviously anxious to get some cake, like he hadn't eaten all day.

"Yeah," Katelyn said grabbing her purse, "seriously Sam, just check on it." He was definitely in a mood, she thought following Dean out to the Impala. "What's up with him?" she asked sliding into the passenger seat.

Dean just shrugged as he got in and cranked up the radio. It was Bob Seger singing about Night Moves. Dean pulled out of the drive and sang along. He knew exactly what was wrong with Sammy...school was out for the summer. Which meant they'd be road-tripping and helping hunt with dad. Dean loved it, Sammy, not so much. Course this time it be a little harder to leave...he looked over at Katie, hair blowing in the wind, her voice singing along with his and Bob's. Dean Winchester wasn't one to form attachments...but he was hooked on her. Her lips, her smell, her hips, her smile...man he was in big trouble. He took the long way to the store, which really only added about a minute to the trip, but he really liked the way she looked in that seat, like she belonged there. "I'll just wait out here," Dean said as the pulled into the grocery store parking lot.

"I don't think so," Katelyn said, "you better park it. I've got milk and bread and a cake and two watermelons and soda to get, I'm gonna need your help."

"Hey, that's what they make carts for."

She glared at him, something else that used to have little affect on him, and he just sighed as he pulled the car into the nearest spot. "Besides, we've got to make this fast," Katelyn said as she pulled a cart out of the bay, "Hawkins will be there any minute and he said he'd let me drive Veronica around for a little bit...and Dean, if there is any car in the world sexier than yours...it's Veronica." 

Dean stopped the cart by putting his foot in front of the wheel like a brake, "Take it back or you can walk home," Dean said, lowering his voice.

Katelyn shook her head and laughed, "I'm sorry but it's true, you've seen Veronica..."

Dean nodded, "All right," he said taking the keys out of his pocket and turning to leave, "have fun walking home."

Katelyn laughed and went after him, "Dean, wait..." she caught up to him and put her hand on his arm, "fine...I take it back."

He kept walking out into the parking lot, headed right for his baby.

"Dean," she said moving in front of him before he could put the key in the door. She put her hands on his chest, "I said I take it back!"

Dean started to smile as he lowered his head, "Say, 'Dean Winchester drives the sexiest car in the world.'"

"Seriously?" Katelyn laughed as she pushed him back.

"Yeah, if you ever wanna ride in her again, especially today, you have to say it."

"Dean Winchester drives the sexiest car in the world...now can we go back in and finish shopping?"

Dean shook his head, leaning further into her, "Say it like you mean it..." 

"Fine," Katelyn said as she felt her cheeks turn pink. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered the words softly in his ear, "Dean Winchester drives the sexiest car in the world."

He brought his hands to her waist and put his lips on hers. He slowly tasted her lips and her hands worked their way up into his hair.

A car passing them in the parking lot honked their horn and they pulled away from each other. "I've got a ham in the oven, much as I'd like too, I can't stay out here and make out with you all day," she said play-smacking him in the stomach, "so lets get this done."

They pulled into the driveway and Katelyn squealed as she saw Veronica parked along the side of the house. "They're here!" she exclaimed, as she practically jumped out of the car and ran for the house. She heard Dean saying something like 'Don't worry, I'll get the stuff...' but she wasn't really listening. She walked in and saw Dylan Hart and Christian Hawkins sitting on the couch looking very intently at their shoes, which she thought was weird because there was no way they hadn't heard the Impala coming up the drive. She stood in the doorway, waiting for them to acknowledge that she was even there and it slowly started to dawn on her. Something was wrong...horribly wrong. She looked around for Sam, he was nowhere in sight, she glanced in the kitchen and saw John's leather jacket hanging over the back of one of the chairs and felt her knees go weak. "No..." she started to say, softly at first, but as she started walking towards the garage, she got louder. If her dad was here, Dylan and Hawk wouldn't be sitting on the couch just ignoring her. She opened the door to the garage and saw her dad's Challenger parked inside. She started shaking as she made her way towards his room...maybe he was in there and Hawk and Hart were just tired...she knew though. Inside her she knew, even before she opened the door to his room to find it empty...she knew her dad had not come home. She felt Hawk come up behind her and lay his hand on her shoulder as she started to sob. Katelyn came all apart. The tears were streaming, her body shivering, her legs buckling and Hawk just picked her up and carried her to her bed. She heard Dean come in and ask what the hell was going on. She heard his dad come down the steps... but beyond that she heard nothing. She curled up with Hawkins on her bed and cried into his shoulder for longer than Katie cared to keep track of. Her dad was dead and she suddenly felt like she was all alone.

Katelyn wasn't sure how long she had slept. She wasn't sure of what time it was, or even what day, but she knew she had to pee. She climbed out of bed and quietly opened the door to her bedroom, she could her all the guys talking in the kitchen.

"I think I should leave the boys here...while I finish this thing out," she heard John Winchester say.

"Dad? Stay here?" Dean asked, "I'm done with school...I can go hunt with you now."

There was a long silence, probably John staring at his shoes trying to keep it together, "Look son, later on in your life you're gonna want this time back...this time before hunting became your life...trust me. A few moments of normal life are going to be all you'll want someday."

Dean didn't say anymore, but Katelyn could imagine the look on his face. She glanced up the stairs, figuring Sam was still in his room. She wasn't ready to face everyone in the kitchen, so she crept up the stairs and knocked softly on his door. He opened it and Katelyn could tell he'd been crying. Crying all alone up in his room, which didn't make sense to Katie because his father was still alive. Here in this house even, and should be comforting his youngest son. But Katie knew John Winchester well enough to understand why Sam was hiding in his room crying. All John wanted was for his boys to be men, when what they'd needed most was to be boys. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, she held her breath a little when his tears started coming again. She knew what was going through his mind, even without him saying it. It could've been his dad... He even probably knew it would be someday. She spent a little time comforting him, and when his tears stopped and his breathing evened out again she heard his stomach growl. "I'm going downstairs to start some dinner, I'll call you when it's done."

She had almost pulled the door shut when Sam spoke up, "I'm really sorry Katie..."

She didn't say anything, she probably couldn't have, she just smiled and pulled the door shut. She still really had to pee so she went to the bathroom before heading into the kitchen. It gave her a little time to compose herself, and rehearse what she was going to say. She splashed some cool water on her face then made her way into the kitchen. As soon as she crossed the threshold everyone stopped talking and stared at her. It was clear they thought she was going to lose it again, something she knew scared most men. She straightened her back and walked in, headed for the pantry. She was sure the ham was ruined, the smell hung in the air, so she was going to have to start from scratch. Since it was already after seven, it would have to be something quick, which meant pasta. Parmesan Chicken Alfredo, she went to the fridge, grateful she had some chicken breasts thawing already. She moved around the men, apparently they were frozen in time, and pulled a skillet out of the cupboard, sprayed it and plopped the chicken inside. As she started adding the seasoning she realized she was going to have to be the first to speak. "I can't stay in this house without dad...it was hard enough without mom, it'll be impossible without dad. Even with your boys here John." She paused as she turned around to face them, arms folded across her chest. "If there's room for me at Steele Street," she looked at Dylan, "that's where I'd like to go. Sell the house..."

Dylan nodded, "Of course there's room for you at Steele Street babe."

She turned back around, flipped the chicken and reached for a pot to start boiling water in. "I'll need help getting this house ready to sell, dad wasn't the best at keeping up with housework. It needs new windows, probably new siding, definitely a new roof...that kind of thing. If Dean and Sam wanna stick around, John while you go...finish this thing, that would be great, if not, I'll get by fine, it's up to you."

John looked at her, he looked like he couldn't even talk, he just nodded. She looked over at Dean, who also looked like he could fall apart at any moment. She looked over at Dylan and Hawkins, grateful to see they were standing tall, strong, which was exactly what she was trying to pull off. She had a feeling though that she looked a lot more like John and Dean. "I'm gonna cook this dinner," she reached down and opened the oven, grateful they had at least turned it off, "one of you is going to have to dispose of this ham..."

Hawk came up behind her, pulled her tight into his arms, "Babe, you don't have to do this right now...you know that right? No one would think of you as anything less than an amazing person if you just took it easy for a while..."

She pushed his arms off her, tears in her eyes, "Don't do that Hawk, not to me...I fell apart already, now I've gotta start putting myself back together. Do I still feel like crying my eyes out? Yes. But I'm not going to, 'cause it does no good. Crying and laying in bed all the time is not the healthiest way to deal with death, I did that when mom died and it damn near killed dad. I do that now and I know it'll kill me. So I'm gonna cook this dinner, I'm gonna feed you people, I'm gonna change the sheets on your beds...I'm gonna do what I do and nobody's going to try and make me feel guilty because of it!" She turned back around and pulled the chicken off the heat and began slicing it up. "Now, Christian, please take that burnt ham out to the trash, and John Winchester, you go upstairs," she turned around, knife in hand, "and comfort your youngest son. He's been up there this whole time thinking, 'what if it had been you?' And Dean, you get over here and start peeling some potatoes, were going to have mashed potatoes with this pasta. And Dylan...you set the table or something...I don't know, just everybody do something!" She turned back around and finished slicing the chicken threw it back in the skillet with some butter and cream and put it on simmer. She threw the noodles in the boiling water and wiped the tears from her cheeks and realized her nightmare had come true.


	5. Chapter 5

Katie put the roller down as she looked at her watch, it was already after six, she needed to start dinner. She looked around her dad's old room amazed at how much just a single coat of new paint made it seem brighter. She felt a little pain inside as she looked around it now and recognized nothing that reminded her of her father, but she knew that as hard as it was to do this room, his study was going to be much harder. This was just where he slept, his study was where he had lived. She turned the fan on to get some of the air circulating. She knew it would just make the sawdust that seemed to be floating in the air stick to the walls, but that would be covered with another coat. She propped the door open and headed into the kitchen. She glanced out the back door where Sam and Dean were working on the deck. Several of the boards, and all of the stairs, needed replacing, and it all needed to be refinished. What she saw stopped her in her tracks. She had been about to yell for them to start wrapping it up, but all she was doing was staring...at Dean Winchester...as he peeled his sweat soaked shirt off his body. The muscles rippled, the sweat dripped, the hair shook...and Katie needed to sit down. As soon as she was able to, she turned around. If she looked for too much longer she would never get started on dinner. She held her breath as she walked towards the fridge, not daring to turn around and take another look. Okay, she thought, maybe just one more look. Katie watched as Dean rubbed the sandpaper across the deck board and remembered how his back rippled in that same way back in May when they'd shared that night together in her room. That was the first time, and so far the only time. A few kisses here and there since then, but nothing more. Katie figured she hadn't been good enough to hold Dean's attention, and that bugged the hell out of her. It also pissed her off, that's what she told herself as she marched over to the door and snapped out, "I'm starting dinner so start wrapping it up." She pulled the blinds shut as she turned back around. She had to focus on fried chicken right now, and she couldn't do that with Dean's back and arms being all sweaty and flexed. She started prepping the flour mixture and grabbed a cool rag and wrapped it around her neck. She was going to overheat, even if she couldn't see Dean's back. She wasn't going to look, she told herself. That's why she pulled the blinds shut...okay, maybe once. She walked over and pulled one of the blinds back and saw nothing. Dean wasn't out there. She heard the garage door opening and turned around to see him standing there, toweling himself off with his shirt.

"What's for dinner he asked?" walking over to the stove. "Mmm...fried chicken."

"Get away from that stove...and go put some clothes on and take a shower..."

"Put some clothes on and take a shower?" he asked smiling.

"Well, whatever...just get out of the kitchen please," she pushed him away from the stove.

"You okay? You look a little flushed."

She touched her face with the cool rag, "Well, it's like a 100 degrees in here, and I'm frying chicken..." and you don't have a shirt on, "get out!" He left the kitchen, laughing, and Katie stood over the stove trying to take deep breaths.

Katie flipped the light off in the kitchen, what she wanted now was a shower. A nice, cool shower. She looked at her watch, it was after ten and she was exhausted. She walked past the boys in the living room proud of herself for not even looking at Dean. She stepped in the shower thinking to herself, what the hell was her problem? So what if she wanted to sleep with him? Why was that a big deal? She was an adult, had been for quite some time...so was he. Dean grew up before she did really. She toweled herself off and wrapped her hair in a towel as she went through her pantie drawer. She picked out her favorite pair, matching bra and panties, pink silk with black lace. She had a thin little pink coverlet she slipped on as she went to the window, opening it as far as it would go. She grabbed a magazine to fan herself hoping they would be finished with the painting by tomorrow night so they could close the windows and get the air back on. The only room she had left was dad's study. She'd been putting that one off. She was actually hoping she could talk Sam into painting it. She knew Dean wouldn't...he hated painting. She walked to the door when she heard Sam tell his brother good night. After she heard his door shut upstairs she opened hers and peeked out. Dean still had the television on. Katie walked out towards the kitchen, "It's so hot in my room, I need a glass of water." She reached up for a glass and peeked around to see if Dean even saw her. "Do you need anything?" she asked, hoping he would turn around and see her.

"No, I'm good," Dean said, as he turned the television up a little.

Katie drank some of the water than walked into the living room. She crossed right in front of the television and walked towards the door to her dad's study. "I can't believe we only have his office left to paint," she said, taking another sip of water, "can you?"

Dean, again, practically ignored her and just nodded his head. Sportscenter was apparently of more interest to Dean than sex. Sex with her anyway. She walked back towards the kitchen, again slowing down a little when she got in front of the television, "Well, good night...we've got another big day tomorrow." She put the glass in the sink and looked out to the back porch. "I'm going to go sit outside for a little bit, try and cool down..." she said and that time Dean didn't even acknowledge her. She pushed open the sliding glass door, which moved so much easier now that Dean had fixed it. There wasn't a single breeze and the air was so thick with humidity Katie felt like she was swallowing it. There was a snowball's chance in hell that she was going to sleep with Dean tonight and if Katie were honest with herself she would just stop fooling herself into thinking there would ever be another night with Dean. He was making it pretty obvious, once was enough for him. God, she was being such a stupid girl. Mad at herself now more than Dean she reached down to pull the screen door open right as Dean entered the kitchen.

"What the hell are you doing out there?" Dean asked walking towards the cabinet and pulling out a glass.

"I told you, I was going out there to cool down..." whole lot of good it did, she thought as she flipped the sliding glass door locked and stuck the bar in place behind it.

"What's your problem today? You havin' hot flashes?" Dean asked leaning against the counter and drinking some of his glass of water.

Katelyn just sighed and pulled her robe tighter as she just glared at him. "I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that it's 110 degrees outside," or the fact that his body looked amazing in jeans and that Led Zeppelin t-shirt he always had on. She walked towards the front door to check the lock one more time, than she was going to bed. She was tired of playing this game.

Dean pushed away from the sink and set the glass on the counter, following her in to the living room. He was right behind her when she flipped the deadbolt shut and when she spun around she ran right into his chest. "You know," he said as he pushed her up against the door, his hands inside her robe feeling her skin with his hands, "all you have to do is ask..." He bent down to kiss her and her tongue melted into his. She sighed and his hands gripped her tighter, pulling her as close to him as possible.

"I was afraid to," she said as his mouth moved down her neck and her robe fell to the floor, "I didn't think you'd want to do this again..."

He moved his arms down to her knees and swung her off her feet and into his arms. She was laughing as he said to her, "Just so you know baby," he kissed her, "I will always want to do this with you." He carried her into her room and laid her on the bed than turned around to flip the light on. "This time," he said as he pulled his jeans down and his shirt off, "I want to see everything."


	6. Chapter 6

_I own nothing...just having fun!_

Christian Hawkins handed Katelyn the loaded weapon and she moved into the bay preparing to fire with live rounds for the first time. She was thrilled. Even as she sighted the target and leveled her weapon to fire, the dream she'd had after her father's death almost three years ago was playing in her mind. The one that made Katelyn realize her destiny. Her winding up at Steele Street, in the presence of some of the most highly trained Operatives in the world, was no accident. When she'd first approached the guys after only having been there a week they made it abundantly clear that there was no way in hell she would ever be an Operative. But they should have known better. It was after all, her destiny; and who were they to deny her that? She spent a year following the guys around the garage, when they were there, learning everything she could about their covers. Steele Street Garage in Denver was **the** place to take your car if you wanted it to perform. Mostly they kept the modifications on the legal side, but these guys were legendary, and so were their cars. So after a year of laying it on thick, Dylan finally caved and contacted his boss at the Pentagon about adding her to the payroll. Now, after almost two years of playing in the garage and intense physical training with Creed, JT and Hawkins, and Kate passing with flying colors, the shooting range became her next area of focus. She'd spent several weeks training with blanks before Hawk gave her live ammo. Katie emptied the clip and quickly loaded another. After five more rounds Kate took out her ear plugs, followed Hawkins to the computer, and watched as patiently as she could as he pulled up her results. She'd executed a kill-shot almost every time. "Not bad for a rookie," he said as he printed off a copy of her spread. Katelyn knew it was her first time, and that she was still not quite field ready, but she couldn't hide her excitement. She threw her arms around Hawkins and squealed with delight as he congratulated her on a job well done.

"I'm gonna go show Skeeter," Katie said, bouncing towards the elevator. She punched the button for the third floor as she looked at the printout again. Even though she knew her dad wouldn't like where she was going or what she was doing, she also figured he would be proud of her. She'd learned a lot in three years. She stepped out of the elevator just in time to hear the familiar sound of a '67 Chevy Impala move into park and shut off. The Winchester's. Katie folded the printout and stuck it in her pocket; she could brag at Skeeter later. She pushed through the glass doors between the elevators and the garage and saw Dean sliding out of the passenger seat as his dad rounded the back end of the car. "Well, well, well," she said walking towards them, her smile getting bigger with each step. John reached her first and picked her up and swung her around as she laughed. She gave him a kiss on the cheek as he put her down and she turned to Dean and wrapped her arms around him, he tensed up though, which was definitely unusual. Katelyn stood back and asked, "Where's Sammy?"

"In school, in Alton, Kansas, I've got a neighbor keeping an eye on him...it's his senior year and all...didn't want to distract him. He's already been accepted at Stanford - Pre-Law."

"That's what he told me, last time we talked...that's great!" she said, noticing that Dean was now just leaning against the car, looking at his feet. "So, what are you guys doing here?"

"Just needed a safe spot to do a little work on the car, some research, some recovery, you know," John said moving forward and putting his arm over Katelyn's shoulders.

"Hope you'll stay a while then..." she said, hugging him as they walked. "Come on Dean," she called over her shoulder, "I baked a pie this afternoon, seems I knew you guys were coming." The three of them got on the elevator and went up to Katelyn's level. Since moving into Steele Street she'd been given her own floor and had worked, with the help of all the guys of course, at making it feel like a home. She loved when the Winchester's dropped in, even if it only happened once in a blue moon.

"All I want is a nice shower and a soft bed, and a good meal...and in that order," John said as they walked into Katelyn's place.

"You know where every thing is, help yourself. I'm gonna get your son some pie before he passes out, then I'll get you some fresh sheets," Katelyn said heading towards the kitchen. He wasn't just wanting some of her pie. Dean was way too quiet. More so than usual. And there was the stiffening up when she hugged him, which never happens. No, it didn't take her somewhat psychic abilities to detect that something was up. Must have been a rough hunt. She reached into the drawer for the pie slicer and turned to ask Dean what was wrong but before she could even fully turn around he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him in a kiss so intense it literally took her breath away.

He didn't want any damn pie, not at the moment anyway. He didn't even want to be in Denver, in the Steele Street garage, in Katelyn's apartment; and he'd tried like hell to convince his dad to just drive straight through. Alton, Kansas was only a few more hours away. There he could just pick a fight with Sam, work off this frustration that was building inside. But here he was, pulling Katelyn into him, kissing the breath out of her and getting ready to take it a hell of a lot further. Part of him knew he was probably scaring her, should probably back off and just eat the damn pie, but she was so soft and sweet against him and when he held her she was all he thought about. The hunt, the fact that his dad was just pulling further away...all of it melted away when she was in his arms. She sighed and he started to move his hands down her back side when he heard his dad clear his throat from the hallway. He let go of her and backed away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I was just wondering, Katie," John said moving closer to the kitchen, "if maybe you had some soap that didn't smell like a girl."

"Oh," Katelyn cleared her throat and fussed over her hair, "yeah...ummm," she headed for the door, "let me go check with Skeeter, she probably has some in stock for the guys. I'll be right back," she said as she tossed the pie server on her couch and hurried out the door.

John walked towards his son and Dean internally braced himself for the lecture. The whole, 'you're too young, you have a different kind of life, she's too good for you' speech was sure to put a real cap on the days events. John cleared his throat as Dean shifted on his feet thinking he should have just taken the damn pie.

"I'm not dumb you know," John began, "I always knew you two were...you know...into each other, but here's the thing," John made sure Dean's eyes met his, "and don't get it into your head that I'm trying to say you're not good enough for a girl like Katie. You're a good boy, too quickly becoming a good man, you deserve the best and there's none better than Katie, but here's the thing, remember when I told you when her dad died that there would come a time when you would want to go back to before you started hunting; back to a time when you're life resembled something normal, you remember that? Well you're at that point now. You're not into this thing so deep that you can't get out, but you've got a hunger for it. You come by that naturally, hunting's in your blood, so you don't want to stop, get a 9 to 5, start a family...not yet anyway, not like Sam. Not like Katie." He paused walking over to pick up the pie slicer from the couch. "She want's this Dean," he gestured around him, "the cozy home, the matching furniture, the pie servers...things that you can't be a part of if you stay on the road you're on." He began cutting the pie into pieces, "You'll keep reaching for her sure, you guys are quite a pair, but then every time you leave, you'll only push her further away. You'll only hurt her worse. So maybe it's not fair, maybe you're thinking you should be able to have both, but hunters don't get that luxury Dean. So you want my advice," he put a piece of the pie on a plate and pushed it towards Dean across the counter, "eat the pie and leave the girl be."

Katelyn walked in with a couple of bottles of man-smelling soap and shampoo and saw the two Winchesters silently standing across from one another, hovering over her pie. "Got some stuff for you guys," she said handing John the bottles, hoping her cheeks weren't as red as she imagined they were.

"Thanks," was all he said as he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before he left the room.

She turned and looked at Dean just as he put a forkful of pie into his mouth. If he thought he could just come in to her house and make her crazy and then just move on to eating pie, he had another thing coming. She was just about to tell him that very thing when he picked up the piece of paper she laid down on the edge of the counter earlier. It was the printout of her target practice, she must have taken it out of her pocket.

"What's this?" he asked setting his now empty pie plate down on the counter.

"Nothing," she said coming around to put his plate in the sink.

"Its got your name on it though, and a bunch of scores...and targets..."

"It's nothing," she said taking the paper from his hand. She hadn't mentioned to any of the Winchester's her plans for the future. She knew they wouldn't like it. She knew they would try to convince her to stop. She'd already had the same damn arguments with Dylan, and she certainly had no desire to have them again. Her life-her call.

"You taking target practice?"

"Yes actually, today was my first time with live rounds, and I did amazing. So don't even start with me."

Dean shook his head, he'd decided to take his father's advice, "I'm not starting anything with you. Thanks for the pie, I'm hitting the hay."

He turned and walked towards the room he slept in when they dropped in, leaving Katelyn standing in the kitchen in a state of mind somewhere between confusion and utter annoyance. She covered the pie and went to go change John's sheets before he got out of the shower. But screw Dean, she thought, let him sleep on dirty sheets.

Dean kicked off his boots and threw his leather jacket over the chair in the corner. He wasn't an idiot. He recognized someone who'd been training when he saw them. He also felt the difference in her body when he was kissing her. He also recognized a damn good grouping when he saw one, and she was a hell of a shot. If Christian Hawkins, aka Superman, thought he was going to train Katie up and send her into a war zone, he had another thing coming. Her dad may be dead and not able to stop this, but Dean sure would. He knew his dad would have something to say about it too. He stormed into the bathroom, started the shower and stripped off his clothes. As he stepped into the water he realized that in making his quick escape from the kitchen he left the non-girly soap out on the counter. Grabbing the lilac scented body wash in front of him he lathered up. There was no way he was going back out there. No, that would only end one of two ways; he'd grab her and kiss her until she was naked, and under him and screaming his name-or, he'd pick a fight with her. And the mood he was in, either one would suit him just fine. Which was why he wasn't going out there. No, he was going to finish showering, dry off, flop into bed and try not to think about the girl. Of course that was going to be damn hard considering he now smelled just like her.


End file.
